{"id":7206,"date":"2018-09-07T13:46:15","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T11:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentnewsgrid.com\/?p=7206"},"modified":"2018-09-07T13:46:15","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T11:46:15","slug":"wits-chemist-first-african-woman-periodic-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/2018\/09\/07\/wits-chemist-first-african-woman-periodic-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Wits chemist is the first African woman on \u2018periodic table\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Wits University lecturer gains international recognition for her research on vitamin B12 and cobalt.<\/p>\n

CORRECTION (04\/09\/2018): This article originally referred to Dr Mathura as the \u2018first African\u2019 to win this accolade.\u00a0Mathura has pointed out that she is the first African woman and first South African to be added to the table. The\u00a0article also stated that Mathura was trained in \u2018biochemistry and science\u2019 when it should have read \u2018biochemistry and
\ngenetics\u2019. The errors are regretted and have been corrected in the copy below.<\/p>\n

Wits University chemistry lecturer, Dr Sadhna Mathura has become the first African woman to be added to the Periodic\u00a0Table of Younger Chemists by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)<\/a>. Mathura, who was honoured\u00a0with the award on August 22, will represent the element cobalt and is currently one of only six women on the table.<\/p>\n

The Periodic Table of Younger Chemists was created in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the IUPAC and honours\u00a0118 outstanding young chemists from around the globe.<\/p>\n

Mathura is currently developing a project that combines knowledge of vitamin B12 and cobalt as well as her previous\u00a0training in biochemistry and genetics to address neonatal jaundice. The 39-year-old told Wits Vuvuzela<\/em> that she was\u00a0deeply honoured and grateful to have been nominated and awarded by a world authority in chemistry. She added that she
\naccepted the award on behalf of future young scientists, chemists and free-thinkers.<\/p>\n

Mathura said that her presentation of the element cobalt was closely related to Vitamin B12, which supports\u00a0cardiovascular health and even the nervous system.\u00a0\u201cMany of us know that Vitamin B12 is critical for human health and well-being because of its role in several\u00a0physiological functions. B12 has a very interesting relationship with cobalt, making it one of the only vitamins to\u00a0contain a metal ion,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Head of the School of Chemistry, Professor Dean Brady, told Wits Vuvuzela that Mathura is an expert in Vitamin B12\u00a0chemistry.\u00a0\u201cBeyond the research Sadhna is also known for her dedication to excellent teaching and support of student learning.\u00a0The School of Chemistry is very proud to have her as one of its PhD graduates and the students are fortunate to have\u00a0such an inspired lecturer,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n

Mathura said that she encourages students, especially young women, to show interest in science in order to address\u00a0global challenges.<\/p>\n

Written by: Onke Ngcuka
\nOriginally published: Witsvuvuzela.com\/2018\/08\/30\/wits-chemist-first-african-on-periodic-table<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Wits University lecturer gains international recognition for her research on vitamin B12 and cobalt. CORRECTION (04\/09\/2018): This article originally referred to Dr Mathura as the \u2018first African\u2019 to win this accolade.\u00a0Mathura has pointed out that she is the first African woman and first South African to be added to the table. The\u00a0article also stated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":7209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30,90,10],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentnews.africa\/sng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}